Cricket

Dhaka, Feb 15 (UNB) - To keep the dream of winning an ODI series in New Zealand alive, Bangladesh are in a dire need to bounce back in the second game of the three-match series in Christchurch on Saturday.

The match will kick off at 4am Bangladesh time.

The Tigers were outclassed in the first match of the series in Napier where the hosts came up victorious by a big margin of eight wickets. Martin Guptill struck an unbeaten 117 to help the host take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, the Bangladesh captain, said after the match they were poor while batting first after winning the toss in a wicket which was ideal for the pace bowlers.

Bangladesh lost six wickets in 96 runs. Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Lotion Das and Mushfiqur Rahim failed to show their limited-overs prowess in the match. However, Mohammad Mithun and Mohammad Saifuddin showed some resistance from the Tigers to guide them to 232.

“I think batting is a concern for us. We were struggling at the start of our innings and we’ve lost too many wickets. They bowled well but we lost too many of our wickets at the start,” Mashrafe told the broadcaster at the end of the first match.

Bangladesh went to play in New Zealand after the bustle of one month in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) which might have taken much time to adapt to the condition of New Zealand.

However, Bangladesh all-rounder Mehidy Hasan said they are still optimistic to win the series in New Zealand.

“We still believe we can win this series. To do that, we have to win the last two games, and the next game on Saturday is most important now,” Mehidy told reporters on Thursday.

“In the first match, Bangladesh lost too many wickets in the first 10 overs, and that’s why we lost the chance to post more runs on the board. If our top-order can deliver better, we still can do what we really want to. We don’t need many runs in the first 10 overs, but we want not to lose too many wickets,” the right-handed all-rounder further said.

Mehidy thinks the batsmen should post a total that can boost the confidence of the bowlers.

“If we bat first, we need a big total. If we have a big total on the board, the challenge of the bowlers becomes easier. And that boosts the confidence of the bowlers while defending the total,” he added.

Bangladesh have played a match in the Hagley Oval in Christchurch and lost the game by 77 runs. In the match back in 2016, New Zealand posted a total of 341 while batting first with the help of Tom Latham’s 137. Bangladesh tumbled for 264 in 44.5 overs and eventually lost the game by a big margin.

While the history and the current situation of the series are against Bangladesh, the hosts are confident to wrap up the series on Saturday with one match to play.

They have had a good opening stand passing 100-run mark in the first match which was the first instance in 15 matches. That helped them outplay Bangladesh by eight wickets and they are upbeat to replicate the same success in the next match.

Not only in batting but New Zealand were also fantastic in bowling in the first game as seven out of 10 Bangladesh wickets were hunted by their pace bowlers.

While New Zealanders have vastly relied on their fast-bowlers, Bangladesh overlooked Rubel Hossain’s experience in the series opener. Instead of considering Rubel on the playing XI, Bangladesh tasted Saifuddin as a second pace bowler. But he still needs time to prepare himself for the role which was proven by his performance of conceding 43 runs in seven overs and not being able to scalp a single wicket.

Bangladesh might bring one or two changes in the playing XI in the second match of the series.

The final and last ODI of the contest will take place at the same time on February 20. Right after the ODI series, both of the teams will lock horns in a three-match Test series starting from February 28.

Dhaka, Feb 14 (UNB) — Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will restart the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) T20 this year to produce more quality players for the shortest format of the game.

“The T20 contest will take place after DPL’s regular 50-over tournament scheduled to start from March 1,” Amir Khan, the coordinator of Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), told the media on Thursday.

Unlike most Test-playing nations, who have more than one local T20 leagues, Bangladesh has only one. Most of the local players, who are out of the national set-up, did not get a chance to play in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) alongside national and international stars.

Bangladesh has failed to produce quality T20 players in the last five years despite BPL’s success. The importance of having more than one T20 league was realised years ago but BCB did not take any effective step until this year.

“Incumbent CCDM Chairman Kazi Inam Ahmed is confident about hosting DPL T20 regularly. We are working to set a schedule,” Khan said.

Local players welcomed the announcement with excitement and optimism. Former national team pacer Mohammad Sharif said he was looking forward to the new T20 league with local players. The right-arm pacer had failed to draw the attention of any franchise in the last BPL.

“It is good news for the players like me who do not get a chance in the BPL. Another T20 league will surely help Bangladesh’s cricket find new talents,” Sharif told UNB while practicing at the National Cricket Academy.

Chattogram, Feb 14 (UNB)- Bangladesh U-19 cricket team, brimming with confidence, are looking forward to the series deciding game of the two-match four-day Youth Tests series against touring English U-19.

The match will begin on Friday at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in the port city. The Young Tigers are leading the series 1-0 having defeated the English side by eight wickets in the first Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram last Sunday.

Bangladesh are now on the cusp of winning all three series after clinching the Youth ODI and one–off T20 series against the visitors.

Earlier, the Young Tigers whitewashed the visitors in the three-match Youth ODI series at Sheikh Kamal International Stadium in Cox’s Bazar. They defeated visitors in the one-off T20 series at the same venue.

In the first Test, England U-19 scored 280 runs in their first innings and but were bundled out for 152 in the second innings. Minhazur Rahman took six wickets for 28 runs and was adjudged the man of the match.

Bangladesh scored 398 runs in the first innings and chased down a small target of 35 losing two wickets in 10 overs.

Dhaka, Feb 14 (UNB) — Three Bangladeshi bowlers have been reported for their bowling action during the last edition of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Sanjit Saha, Alis Al Islam and Nahidul Islam now need to be assessed by a bowling review committee of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to get further instructions regarding their participation in the upcoming domestic events.

“Three local bowlers have been reported with suspected action during the BPL. They will not be available to bowl in the upcoming domestic events unless they get a positive response from the bowling review committee of BCB,” Amir Khan, the coordinator of Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), said on Thursday,

Sanjit, a right-arm orthodox bowler, was reported back in 2016 during the ICC Under-19 World Cup. He got a chance to play for the Victorians after rectifying his action. However, the 21-year-old failed to impress umpires with his new action.

Sanjit played three matches and took two wickets while Alis played four matches and took six wickets. Nahidul played nine matches for the Riders and took three wickets.

Alis, a new face, grabbed the limelight during BPL when he took a hat-trick in his T20 debut for Dynamites against Riders. But after that match, Riders submitted their concern about the action of Alis. Later, the umpires also reported a suspected action against him.

Nahidul is the only all-rounder among the three. He could draw the attention of the teams in the coming days with his batting. But the future of the other two is hanging in the balance.

Lalmonirhat, Feb 13 (UNB) – Lalmonirhat Government High School emerged district champions in the Prime
Bank National School Cricket Tournament beating Church of God High School by 134 runs in the
final at the local Sheikh Kamal Stadium on Wednesday.

Batting first, Lalmonirhat Government High School were all out for 162 runs with Reefat Hasan making 40
and Shakawat Hasan 30 runs. Sadat grabbed four wickets while Mominul took three.

In reply, Church of God High School were bundled out cheaply for 28 runs against devastating bowling
by Mushfiq Hasan.

Right arm pacer Mushfiq Hasan, a net bowler of BPL champions Comilla Victorian and a cricketer of Lalmonirhat
District U-16 Cricket team, claimed seven wickets conceding only 16 runs and was adjudged man of the match.